CL 269 - The Love of Self

CL 269 [6]

. . . love of self is wrapped in glory,
and glory raises the understanding
even into the light of heaven.
Indeed, in every person
the understanding is capable of being raised
in accordance with his knowledge,
in contrast to the will,
which can be raised only by living
in accordance with
the truths of the church and of reason.
That is why even atheists
who from love of self are motivated
by the glory of their reputation
and by a resulting conceit in their own intelligence,
may possess a higher degree of rationality
than many others --
but only when they are directed
by the thought of their intellect,
and not by the affection of their will.
For the affection of the will
governs a person's inner self,
while the thought of the intellect
governs his outer one."